This $5,999 Sportbike Has No Business Coming With This Much Stuff

Shopping for a cheap sportbike usually involves accepting that somebody in accounting got to the parts catalog first. Basic suspension, basic brakes, and a modest electronics package are pretty normal when you're trying to keep the price within reach of newer riders. Benelli apparently looked at that arrangement and decided it could make things considerably more complicated for everyone else.

The Tornado 550 has officially landed at US dealerships, with an introductory starting price of just $5,999. That's firmly in affordable sportbike territory, except Benelli's equipment list reads like somebody forgot to tell the engineering department there was a budget. You get Brembo brakes, Marzocchi suspension, a slipper clutch, traction control, ride modes, tire-pressure monitoring, and a 5-inch TFT with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity (which, quite frankly, probably nobody's gonna use).

But what I think really steals the show is the hardware.

Photo by: Benelli

Good Value Or A Headache Waiting To Happen

This Chinese Middleweight Naked Bike Costs $7K And Has Main Character Syndrome

This New Chinese Sportbike Knows That Not Everyone Wants A Race Bike

Up front sits a 41mm inverted Marzocchi fork with preload, compression, and rebound adjustment, while the rear shock offers preload and rebound adjustment. Braking comes courtesy of twin 320mm floating discs and four-piston Brembo calipers up front, plus another Brembo setup at the rear. ABS is standard, naturally. That's a fairly serious shopping list for something with a price beginning with a five.

Benelli also gives the Tornado two riding modes, Normal and Sport, along with traction control and a six-speed transmission. Depending on the spec, the package could also include the sort of convenience and electronic features that would've sounded ridiculous on an affordable middleweight not that long ago. This isn't a stripped-down motorcycle asking you to upgrade half of it before your first track day.

Photo by: Benelli

Power comes from a liquid-cooled 554cc DOHC parallel twin. Benelli lists output at 61 horsepower at 8,250 rpm and 40 pound-feet at 5,500 rpm. So clearly, this isn't secretly a supersport assassin wearing a bargain price tag. The emphasis here is accessible performance paired with an unusually generous pile of hardware.

There's another number worth mentioning before we get completely drunk on the spec sheet. Benelli lists curb weight at 198 kilograms, which works out to about 437 pounds. That's substantial for a motorcycle producing around 60 horsepower, and it means the Tornado isn't going to embarrass much more powerful middleweights simply because somebody bolted Brembos to it. Its claimed top speed is about 109 miles per hour, which is slow for middleweight sportbike standards.

But focusing on those shortfalls is also missing the point. At $5,999, Benelli doesn't need this thing to chase a Yamaha YZF-R7 or Triumph Daytona 660 down a straight. It needs someone shopping around the lower end of the sportbike market to notice how much equipment is included before they've even started browsing aftermarket catalogs. Adjustable suspension and branded brakes are tangible things you can point at before the salesperson has finished saying hello.

Photo by: Benelli

And there's a larger story hiding behind the fairings. Benelli is an Italian name owned by China's Qianjiang, and its approach looks increasingly familiar. Chinese manufacturers have been getting aggressive about combining attractive pricing with equipment that established brands often reserve for more expensive motorcycles. CFMoto has already demonstrated how disruptive that formula can be in America, and Benelli now has another bike playing the same game.

The biggest difference is that the Tornado 550 isn't sitting under bright lights at a motorcycle show with an unspecified US launch date. It's here. Benelli says the bike is available through authorized US dealers nationwide, although initial availability will be limited.

Will the Tornado 550 be the sharpest middleweight sportbike on the road? Probably not. But at $5,999, it doesn't really need to be. If a rider can walk into a dealership, see Brembos, adjustable Marzocchis, modern electronics, and a 554cc twin, then look down at a price tag that still starts with a five, Benelli has already made the comparison shopping considerably more interesting.

Stay informed with our newsletter every weekday

 

back

Subscribe For more info, read our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Rideapart.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The RideApart Team